Today’s youth are leading environmental change across Canada

Journal

The environment influences our physical health but have you ever considered its effects on our mental health? Almost one in four people globally experience a mental health issue every year and the environment plays a crucial role, along with genetic and psychological factors. Youth and children are more sensitive to toxic environments than adults due to the early stages of their brain development and therefore more vulnerable to mental disorders.

On a blustery day in Vancouver, my sister and I hauled lighting equipment and a video camera into the UBC Forestry Building. Inside a third floor conference room we filmed a meeting with Dr. Tongli Wang, a learned scientist and programer who specializes in the climate modelling and saving the future of forests.

Last week a startling report was released by Environment and Climate Change Canada that announced that Canada is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world. This news was an awakening to many and a warning impossible to ignore. It seems perfect timing that environmentalist duo, Chúk Odenigbo and Samantha Matters of The Poison and The Apple, have released their first illustrated, bilingual book The Forces of Nature: Gaia’s Child.

We connect environmental change-makers

The Starfish Canada celebrates young environmental leaders by connecting them with a platform for storytelling and a community of change-makers.

Meet Canada’s youngest environmental leaders

Through our Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 program, we celebrate and amplify amazing accomplishments done by Canadian youth in the environmental sector. We build bridges by connecting them to each other and supporting their environmental journey.

We bring people together to discuss environmental solutions

Throughout Canada, we deliver high-quality programming and workshops to schools and communities. With programming tailored for any age group, we discuss how to make complex decisions about environmental matters, how to understand our natural world through Western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and how to have respectful discussions about the issues facing our planet today.